Peptides can be widely defined as short chains of two or more than two amino acids, generally less than 100 amino acids. In terms of size, they range between proteins and small molecules. Coupled with proteins, the peptides help in regulating a majority of the human body functions.

Peptides have low toxicity and high specificity, owing to which they have emerged as valuable therapeutics in antibody production and diagnostics and for advancing biological processes.

On July 16, 2015, Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc., which develops orally stable and novel peptide therapeutics to cure gastrointestinal disorders and diseases, raised $40 million for advancing oral peptide drugs for clinical development. Each of the company's current investors, including Lilly Ventures, Johnson & Johnson Innovation, S.A, Starfish Ventures, and Pharmstandard International also participated in the financing.

There are a variety of peptide therapeutics drugs in the peptide therapeutics market, namely copaxone, angiomax, forteo, velcade, sandostatin, zoladex, and victoza. Additionally, there are a large number of factors fuelling the demand for these peptides, which are elaborated as follows:

Rise in Patient Population Having Cancer and Diabetes

Peptides are utilized in numerous drugs given to patients having cancer, metabolic, and cardiovascular disorders. For instance, a patient with diabetes is treated by using peptide drugs, namely GLP 1 agonists and recombinant insulin. The high occurrence of such diseases around the world leads to the increased medication consumption, thereby raising the sale of numerous peptides utilized for treatment.

Development of Technology in Favor of Peptide Synthesis

Numerous methods are available for peptide synthesis, among which enzymatic and chemical synthesis are the most significant methods. Modern peptide synthesis methods have raised the bioavailability, efficacy, and safety of peptides, decreased their adverse effects, and have helped advance novel formulations. This trend is predicted to be consistent and will further propel the market.

Unmet Medical Requirement

The unmet medical requirements in patients having cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and metabolic disorders are huge. Hence, the market is witnessing increased demand for drugs for the effective treatment of these diseases. Drugs with increased efficacy and safety could be utilized for the treatment of various diseases, namely cancer and diabetes.

On 17th July, 2015, the FDA presented the immunotherapy DPX-Survivac with an orphan drug designation. DPX-Survivac is a vaccine that is based on lipid depots and contains survivin HLA class I peptides to treat women having ovarian cancer. An early-phase research displayed a strong immune response with this therapy combined with cyclophosphamide.

Hence, there is an immense market potential for drug makers to develop and innovate new peptide-based therapies, which will stimulate the global market for peptide therapeutics in the forthcoming future.

There has been a rise in worldwide healthcare spending, particularly in emerging countries. India, Japan, and China are the prime countries stimulating the market for peptide therapeutics in Asia Pacific. Hence, the rise in healthcare spending would further propel the global peptide therapeutics market.